The agency is opening an operation in Liverpool and has brought in former CEO of Liverpool Chamber of Commerce Jack Stopforth to run the office.

BIG's co-founder Alex Barr said that expanding beyond Scotland 'had been a long-held strategic ambition' and expected the office to be profitable within its first year.

He explained that the decision had come about through longstanding client Peel Ports, which asked the agency to extend the work it did on projects around the Port of Liverpool and the Manchester Ship Canal.

'It represented a significant new opportunity for us and provided the ideal platform for us to establish our first office in England,' Barr added.

Stopforth, who was recently awarded an MBE, will join the main board of BIG to strengthen its public affairs and government relations offer to existing clients and will manage the business in England.